Mini Duty-Free Shops Onboard Korean Air A380s is the Best Idea Ever

Have you ever gone shopping in South Korea? It's an experience, to say the least. And when you combine one of the country's favorite pastimes with discounts on luxury items as you find in Duty-Free, pardon our French but shit gets real. Real awesome. And soon you'll be able to indulge in duty-free shopping over South Koreaand indeed most of the rest of the worldas Korean Air is installing the world's first in-flight duty-free shops onboard their Airbus A380s.

Korea is crazy for duty-free; indeed there are entire malls in Seoul where you need to have an international trip planned in order to make a purchase, which you then can't pick up until you're safely inside the airport and headed out of the country with the goods. And these malls and special duty-free store levels are gorgeous places where big brands create their own mini luxury environments, so why not translate this success to something that fits on a plane?

This is such a great idea we can't even handle it. After all, Seoul's Incheon Airport was the first airport in the world to get a Louis Vuitton duty-free shop, and as far as we know, it remains the only one.

Although each of Korean Air's 10 A380s will lose 13 seats to the compact shop, what it will sell in advertising and product placement space plus general retail sales will make up for that easy-peasy. There won't be any tobacco in them, but the airplane shops will be ready to fill your perfume, fine jewelry, watch, alcohol and likely tech accessory needs.

Passengers onboard Korean Air's A380s will be invited to leave their seats and visit the shop. First Class first, followed by business and then coach. The first A380 with the shop is set to hit Asian routes as early as June 10. Pick us up a bottle of Ballantine's, mkay?